Velan Ministry of Merits
The Ministry of Merits A new branch of the Velan government post-reformation, the Ministry of Merits (coll. M.o.M. or MoM), is responsible for reinforcing the meritocracy system by evaluating and rewarding Velan citizens for their positive contributions to society. All Velan citizens have equal rights under the new order, but special recognition, access, and rewards are only available to those that contribute to the productivity and greater good of the Velan Ascendancy. The Ministry of Merits is largely operated by Musir and Khutat personnel, with oversight and supervision by the new Musharaf Political Officer Cadre. Mission Statement: To end the imperial dregs of corruption, greed, negligence, and selfishness in the sovereign Velan sphere through positive reinforcement of service to the community and volunteerism. Checks and Balances: The Ministry of Merits is subject to investigation and review by the Grand Forum under conditions of a legitimate cause. In return, the Ministry of Merits has authority to demerit any and all Velan citizens when warranted, including government officials at all levels, particularly in cases of corruption. Titles Musharaf (Arabic for supervisor): '''Responsible for the implementation and governance of the Merit System. They identify '''Deviants and educate the populace about the new system. The Catalogue of Personal Merits Mother is watching... The Catalogue is a system core to the meritocracy of the Velan Ascendancy. While all citizens are afforded basic equal rights protected by Velan law, the Catalogue affords Meritorious Citizens of certain ranks access to special luxuries. The purpose of the Catalogue is to reinforce service to the masses and the greater good. The basic system operates on a point-value for hour-to-hour, day-to-day, month-to-month, and annual Merits. The Catalogue measures community service, unpaid volunteer work, positive contributions to society, charitable contributions, significant accomplishments, major life events, special exams, hourly work value for jobs relative to demand, and tax payments, among other things. The easiest way for citizens to track their personal catalogue system is through AR eyewear. The choice of what eyewear remains with the person, whether they opt for glasses, contacts or cybernetic eyes. This overlays public spaces with notifications on what activities give merit. By extension, the Ministry has access to a real time feed of anyone in the Catalogue. Viewing of the full Catalogue is restricted to officials of the Ministry, though each citizen’s merit score and official evaluation is readily available to them. Meritorious Citizens may observe the relative placement of other citizens in a limited capacity lesser, or equal merit status, though various institutions may request a Merit Report from the Ministry regarding specific citizens when warranted. Exceptional citizens may elect to opt-in with the government-sponsored achievements display program, having their accomplishments publicly recognized. Those that opt-in are afforded Merit multipliers. Individuals that are considered unproductive and make no contributions to society and the well-being of their fellow citizens are flagged within the Catalogue, their record subject to public viewing access. The common unofficial nomenclature for a flagged individual is “Deviant”. The unofficial stance of the state regarding “Deviants” is that they are misguided elements of the citizenry that contribute to corruption, and require recognition and help in order to improve their contributions to society and rejoin the Meritorious Citizenry. Though the Ministry monitors all citizens, Deviants are often a primary focus of their observation efforts as warranted by the Ministry’s mission statement. The Catalogue is always changing and evolving to adapt to the growing pains of the new society, but here are some special luxuries afforded to Meritorious Citizens: *Voting is the first luxury of Meritorious status, easily acquired through basic service and completion of the Voter *Competency Exam. *Public transit vouchers. *Access to special license programs. *Access to certain financial aid services. *Government recognized achievements and honors, displayed on national leaderboards. *Qualifications for residency within one of the cities of Gamma Velorum. *Access to government jobs. *Qualifications for residence within the city of Eskendria. *Full tuition reimbursement. *Qualifications for residence on Pharos. *Security clearance qualifications. *Access to venues and businesses that service special clientele. *Qualifications for residency within the Bastion of the Dutifully Aware.* And more! For main article, see 'The Bastion of the Dutifully Aware'' The Voter Competency Exam This exam is a dynamic digital review issued and overseen by the Ministry of Merits prior to each district, regional, and national vote. No two exams are alike: each one is generated and administered according to an individual’s personal profile for maximum analysis effect and to reduce fraud. Passing this exam is essential to being able to vote, and successfully passing the exam awards a substantial Merit Score bonus. The Ranks of Merit Though the inner workings of the Merit system are somewhat obfuscated to the public, citizens often have a generally implied rank according to their score. '''Rank 0 - (Merit Score less than 10k) (coll. “Deviants”) — You have done little for the benefit of society, or have acted against the interests of the Ascendancy through greed, corruption, or otherwise harmful acts against the community. People of this rank have not passed the Voter Competency Exam and most jobs do not hire individuals with such a low rank due to their “at-risk” nature. As such, these individuals are flagged by the Ministry for Special Assistance Monitoring in order to “help improve their position in society and prevent harm to themselves or those around them”. The quickest way to get out of this rank is volunteer public service or military enrollment, then retaking the Voter Competency Exam. Anyone convicted of a serious crime may be demerited to this rank. Rank 1 - (Merit Score of 11k – 2m) (Meritorious Citizens) — You are generally an upstanding citizen. Most jobs require rank 1 or above to be hired. You start at 1m after graduating from a Lycaeum as long as your grades are above average, whereas if your grades are below you start at the minimum 11k. The quickest way out of Rank 1 is to perform well at your job, attain skills and talents or public service and volunteer work. Rank 2 - (Merit Score of 2.1m – 5m) — You have contributed to society more than the average person. You have excelled at your chosen profession and deserve extra rewards for your contributions. You have done a lot with your life enriching the Ascendancy in the ways you are best at. You help those in need and do not shy away from volunteering. Rank 3 - (Merit Score of 5.1m – 10m) — You understand that it is your job to help the nation in any way you can. By getting to this rank you have made exceptional contributions to the culture of the nation and are now allowed to apply for government jobs. You have access to financial aid programs for visiting places of higher learning. You can also access places and businesses that service special clientele. You are given a title to denote your chosen craft. Rank 4 - (Merit Score of 10.1m – 25m) — You are a scion of the new order and have embraced making the Velan Ascendancy a wonderful place to live. You uphold all the values of the nation and work selflessly to keep improving it. People in this rank have usually found entrepreneurial success and have made the Ascendancy more prosperis on a large scale. Or you have made major cultural additions to the Ascendancy through any art medium. 'Rank 5 - (Merit Score of 25.1m+) '— Anyone above 25m merit is a cultural or political icon of the values the Ascendancy holds. The people here have made massive contributions to the Ascendancy through entrepreneurship or revolutionary inventions. Artists that have spawned new art styles changed the public discussion also can achieve this point. At this rank you are now on the leaderboards posted throughout the Ascendancy and you are allowed to stay at The Bastion of the Dutifully Aware. You are famous across the nation for your selfless determination to make life a wonderful experience. Merit Multipliers There are many ways to gain Merit but the fastest is to use multipliers to you or your families benefit. Here’s a list of just a few things that award multipliers. *2x Graduate from a Lycaeum in the top 1% of your class. Also applies to parents. (lasts for 1 year) *2x During the first year of work if you are in the top 10% of productivity. (lasts for 6 months) *2x If you have a child, marriage or death in the family. Applies to all members of a family older than 16. (lasts for 6 months) *2x For suffering serious injury in service to the state. (lasts for 6 months) *3x If a close family member dies in service to the state. (lasts for 1 year) *2x You opted to be on the leaderboards. (lasts for 1 year) *1.5x You opted into MoM recording what you see (lasts until opted out) *1.5x For an ongoing civilian government position. (lasts until leaving office) *2x For ongoing honorable military service. (lasts until discharged) *4x Complete military service with honors. (lasts for 2 years) *3x Found a successful company that employs 100 people (lasts for 1 year) *2x 30 hrs of community service related work during a week (lasts 1 week) *1.5x to 3x Charitable donations equivalent to a relevant percentage of your income (lasts 2 months) Merit Bonuses Here are some examples of flat Merit bonuses. *100k: Doing PR, interviews, and other media, 1.5x to 2x multiplier awarded for high view count. *25k: Finding and maintaining new employment for a 6 month period. *100k: Getting a promotion at your job. *200k: Found and run a successful business for 1 year. *25k: For each year a citizen maintains productive employment within your business. *150k: Scoring well on Merit Review Exams. *75k: Scoring well on job performance reviews. *150k: For earning state-recognized honors and awards. *Upon being scouted by the Musaeum of Pharos, your Merit Score is set to Rank 1 1.8m if your merit was lower. *Citizens are awarded an indeterminate Merit Score bonus for passing the Voter Competency Exam, scaled to that individual’s personal profile according to the Catalogue algorithm. Merit Decay Merit can be lost in a number of ways. These are the most common examples. *MoM finds actionable evidence of corruption. *Being charged with criminal acts. *Propagating rhetoric deemed harmful to the community or state. *Causing economic harm to the community or state. *Scoring poorly on Merit Review Exams. *Dishonorable discharge from the military. *Fraudulent attempts at manipulating the Merit Catalogue algorithm. *Being flagged as “at-risk, danger to the well-being and health of the community”. *Failing to register a meritorious action for an extended period as dictated by the algorithm’s analysis of an individual’s resources and social standing. *Merit begins to decay at a rate of 1% every day. *Repeat failure triggers may increase the decay modifier percent. *Registering Merits in a fashion considered manipulative in order to avoid decay triggers. Rumors The speed and efficiency with which the Ministry of Merits was established in the new order of the Velan Ascendancy was a shock to many, and led to the prevalence of many conspiracies. The strongest of these baseless theories is that surrounding minor evidence of a secret emergency meeting of the Council of 12 in the year 3177, following the Crucian unveiling of the Cygnus “plot” and the instigation of the War Against the Artificials. The theory implies that the Council conspired to create an “emergency government plan” in the event of a societal collapse and call for reformation. If such were true, the plan would have had to be reviewed and approved by the Royal Family, then distributed and implemented in phases under classified special orders to high ranking special intelligence, logistics, and records operation personnel across House Vela over the course of 23 years. Some see the fact that residents from other noble Houses were evicted or sent home from attending the Musaeum of Pharos several weeks before the Velan Declaration of Independence as proof for the validity of these rumors. It has been suggested that the Ministry maintains a “shadow catalogue” of all Velan citizens, registering and predicting the value of each citizen independently of the Catalogue of Personal Merits. This system would generate a psychological profile of each citizen, applying it to historical data recorded of said individuals ranging between topics of education, profession, and political rhetoric in order to project an ideal “placement” of the person in Velan society. The Ministry would then manipulate their Merit score to place them in positions that benefit the state. If such a rumor were true, then such a system would have been maintained by the keepers of the Great Library prior to the Velan Reformation. Category:The Velan Ascendancy